This week brings the story of a former church youth director accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl he oversaw.
Police and prosecutors fear there may be more victims.
But first we hail the tale of a cabbie who raped a drunken women he’d picked up in Huntington Beach.
(Whatcha got to say about this, taxi cab lobbyists forever sending me press releases about the misdeeds of Uber and Lyft drivers around the country?)
Samy Gayed Hakim, who copped to raping a drunken woman in his cab, was sentenced last week to eight years in state prison and three years of formal probation after his release. Under an agreement with the court, the 59-year-old Anaheim resident pleaded guilty to felony rape in exchange for prosecutors dropping other charges. Early on Nov. 18, 2014, the Huntington Beach Yellow Cab driver picked up a woman who had been celebrating her 36th birthday downtown but gotten separated from her friends. Hakim drove her to an apartment complex near Beach Boulevard and Warner Avenue, but instead of dropping the lever to determine the fare he raped her inside the cab.
Edmundo Nevarez has been charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl he oversaw as a church youth director, and police and prosecutors fear there may be other victims. Nevarez, 44, of Pico Rivera, served at The Good Shepherd Family Bible Church in Whittier from 2002 to 2012, when he came in contact with more than 50 female youths, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s office. He is accused of befriending the family of the 14-year-old girl before sending her numerous sexually explicit texts in March 2015. The following month, he allegedly drove her to an empty parking lot in Buena Park, where he is accused of sexually assaulting her. In December 2015, a family member of the girl discovered the text messages on her phone and contacted the Buena Park Police Department, which launched the investigation that led to Nevarez being charged with two felony counts of lewd acts upon a child, one misdemeanor count of child annoyance, and a sentencing enhancement for substantial sexual conduct with a child. If convicted, he could get three years and eight months in state prison and a lifetime of having to register as a sex offender. Nevarez is out of custody on $75,000 bail, but the investigation is ongoing as is the search for other possible victims. Anyone with additional information is asked to contact Supervising District Attorney Investigator Mark Gutierrez at 714.347.8794.
